Orden Ogan‘s ascent continues.
Founded in 1996 in Germany, and led since then by Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann (vocals/keyboards and guitar until 2019), the band completed by Niels Löffler (guitar, ex-Stormblade, ex-Sardonic), Dirk Meyer-Berhorn (drums, Akanoid), Steven Wussow (bass, Xandria, ex-Shylock) and Patrick Sperling (guitar, Earacle) unveils in 2024 its ninth album, The Order of Fear, via Reigning Phoenix Music.
The album opens with the catchy Kings of the Underworld, a composition in which vocal parts and guitars respond to each other at a frenetic pace. The piercing harmonics give the track its aggressive edge under the permanent double kick, but the sound darkens with The Order of Fear, embracing its heady heavy influences and more majestic keyboards. The solo remains in a livelier vein, influencing the more epic end of the track before giving way to the more complex touches of Moon Fire, the next composition, which takes on Symphonic tones and offers one of the album’s most unifying choruses, as simple as it is effective. Back to raw energy with Conquest, a track that will have no trouble seducing live audiences and getting them singing along with their fists waving, but the riffs harden again with Blind Man, while remaining perfectly suited to live performance and frenetic headbanging sessions. Prince of Sorrow ironically provides a more upbeat mood with melodious leads and a jolting rhythm, but it’s during the solo that the song really comes into its own, before Dread Lord returns to darker, heavier tones. The choruses remain perfect for motivating a crowd, before My Worst Enemy unveils itself with unexpected gentleness, establishing itself as the album’s power ballad, with an intoxicating slowness and obviously more intensity on the final chorus. The album takes an even more imposing turn with Anthem to the Darkside, a lengthy composition that combines an enchanting introduction, solid riffs and much more majestic parts, all the while including powerful vocals. The sound gradually fades out, leading into The Journey Thus Far, an eerie interlude of keyboards and a few words, before The Long Darkness, the final track, brings the band back with its slow, impressive rhythm, eventually speeding up and returning to the band’s familiar unifying sounds.
Orden Ogan has found its recipe, and the band continues to exploit it on The Order of Fear, delivering here a solid, well-crafted album that doesn’t hesitate to alternate moods to show us its full effectiveness.
80/100